Students In Black Civil Rights Movements Of 1960’s

In the 1960’s, the Civil Rights and laws were changing. The new laws were to bring equality to all races and gender. Most whites were upset with the new laws, and this created a violence problems in the South. In Mississippi, it was known to be the most violent place to be during this time period, there was still a lot of discrimination against the African Americans. In Mississippi, African Americans were arrested for just about anything. For Example in the SNCC documents, On September 13th, in Jackson, Hinds County: 3 African Americans were arrested because they asked to be severed lunch at a Greyhound terminal. They would soon be charged for “inviting a breach of the peace. ” In the book “March, ” it is very similar to the SNCC documents. The comic book shows graphics on the real life situations that African Americans went through during this time period in the South. There was very similar story between the two documents. In the book “March, ” there were 2 black men that sat down at a local diner owned by white people. They were told it was closed and were immediately locked in with the lights turned off on them. Soon after that, the owner turned a fumigator and left them there to die treating them like they weren’t human beings. Many of these actions happened all across the South and are told very well in these documents.

African Americans fought for their rights by protesting against the white supremacists and law enforcements. As said the book “march, ” We poured our hearts into the music of the movement songs like, Ain’t nobody gonna turn me “round” and “we shall overcome, ” to give us strength. ” This quote shows how the African Americans kept staying positive through this horrible time period of violence. During this time period, African Americans would have Dr. King by their sides helping them fight against law enforcements, they would be called “Freedom Riders. ” Freedom Riders were Civil Rights activist that travelled in buses helping fight against segregation in the South. “The Freedom Rides stripped the National consciousness and awoke the hearts and minds of a Generation, ” as was said in the book “March. ” Bob Moses was another Civil Rights activist, he was helping the young black communities register to vote. Moses would also be welcomed in the Student Nonviolent coordinating committee (SNCC), he wanted to make change by doing it with no violence.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, would be the one to change it all. On August 28, 1963, he delivered a speech at the Lincoln Memorial for the march of jobs and freedom. “His words carried through the air like arrows… moving to a climactic refrain the world would never forget, ” as was said in the book “March. ” All of these Civil Rights activist made a different in this time period. They were the brave ones that stood up for their rights during these violence times in the South, they were arrested, beaten, and imprisoned for their bravery. The document “Chicano student demands, ” it shows how the students wanted to change the school system. Mexican- Americans wanted the education that they deserved and had been held back from because of their race. They made a list of demands for the school system that would give the Mexican- American students better rights, curriculum, and rules. They wanted to install programs for the teachers and staff to learn their language and the history to understand the students better and programs for themselves to learn different traits. As said in the “Chicano Student Demands, ” in-service education programs will be instituted immediately for all staff. ” They also wanted to change the school curriculum, by learning about both Mexican beliefs and American beliefs. Mexican- Americans wanted better schools built for them. These documents tell us that in this time period students of color and very little rights and freedom when it came to school.

In the clip, “Texas Chicanos Walkout, ” the walkout started because the school had a policy were it was “prohibited to speak Spanish on school grounds, ” as was stated in the clip. They wanted to able to speak their native language, be graded fairly, read what they wanted, and be punished fairly. These students would take risk to get what they wanted and what they deserved, even if that resulted in arrests or beatings. The walkout movement would soon spread due to unfair policy by the school all across the south. Student would finally take a stand and get the opportunities that their families never had. Mexican- Americans felt that they shouldn’t have to hide their culture but let it be embraced, and believed that the school systems should do that as well.